The Haltier Redemption Manifesto
by Kat Carson
Summary: Though you came down here with intentions to die, and surely your life is expendable, you may just find yourself a reason to live in those who matter most to you. AU where the purple soul, the last soul before Frisk came down, doesn't die. Mad TW for suicide and depression, if you couldn't already tell. Also uses the headcanon that Sans is a human in disguise.
1. Falling Violet

Slowly, you brought your face up from where it lay. Every part of you was sore, but most sore was your neck. You knew why.

 _You climbed the mountain with the last piece. People said that once you climbed the mountain, you would never return. You knew otherwise, but weren't planning on bragging about it. Quite the opposite actually, you wanted no one to know about these trips._

You pulled your body up from the bed of flowers. A discolored splotch caught your eye, and after bringing your fingers to your mouth, your suspicions were confirmed. You briskly wiped your face on the inside of your shirt collar.

 _It wasn't long now. After everything, you'd finally get the end you wanted, the end you worked for. You expertly tied the knot, like you practiced so many times on bits of string at school, and attached the rope to your handcrafted support system._

You felt the inside of your mouth with your tongue, discovering the source of the blood. Had one of your teeth really been yanked out? You looked up at your handy work, but it was too far up to be able to properly inspect it.

 _You walked to the middle of the rail and put the loop around your head. It was a little big, but you didn't see why it should matter. To fix it now would be procrastinating. Taking a deep breath and closing your eyes, you stepped backwards off the rail. You braced yourself for the snatch. It yanked your neck and you felt your spine pop. Flashes of white sparked behind your eyelids. Slowly, your consciousness faded away, and you could feel yourself falling._

You stood up, reached your hand into your pocket, and put on your glasses. Everything around you was pitch black, only the patch of flowers being illuminated by the hole above. You felt over your body. If you were dead, why were you so sore? Wouldn't it just be your soul walking about? Why did you have to keep this wretched body?

You decided not to think too hard about it. After all, you got what you wanted, why complain? You walked down the dark corridor in front of you, hoping to soon meet some fantastic creature that would lead you to the afterlife.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!" You scrunched your eyes, trying to find the source of the voice. Surely, a demon to lead you to hell would be big and scary, right?

"I'm down here buddy!" you looked down. Nope. It was literally a flower, a little yellow one with a white face. "Hey, you're new here, aren't you?" You give a curt nod, not amused in the slightest. "By gosh! You're probably so confused right now! Why, someone oughta teach you how things work around here!" the flower chuckled, "Guess I'll have to do!"

Suddenly, you felt a strange floating sensation, and the world around you went even blacker than it already was. You didn't like this. You saw the flower in front of you, and between you, a hollow, milky colored orb, about the size of the flower itself, floated calmly. In the centre of it, a purple heart beat.

"You see that heart? That's your soul! The very culmination of your being!" You pushed one of your hands to the orb, which was oddly solid, and the heart reacted. Slowly, you moved your hands over the smooth surface, and the heart followed.

"Right now, you're souls pretty weak, but you can make it stronger by gaining LV! What's LV? Why, LOVE of course! You want some love? Oh, why not, I'll share some with ya!" The flower winked gayly. "Here, LOVE is shared through… little white… 'friendliness pellets'" The flower squinted as it tried to think of a good name. You could see right through this shmucks bullshit. "Move around! Get as many as you can!"

Sure enough, small white seeds appeared from his end and shot slowly into the orb. You moved your heart around them easily. The seeds passed by and phased right through your body, as if you weren't even there.

"Hey, kid, you missed them. Here, try again." Again, white seeds shot at you, and again, you dodged them. It wasn't that hard.

"Are you messin with me? Are you stupid? RUN. INTO. THE BUL-friendliness pellets." He looked more than annoyed now, and the white seeds shot at you much faster than before. He completely broke.

"You know what's goin on here, don't you?" His voice was dark, and his face had turned scary. "You just wanna see me suffer. Now, DIE." The flower laughed as the entire orb was surrounded by the white seeds. They slowly enclosed you, and admittedly, you were a little scared. But you couldn't die if you were already dead… right?

From the side, a glowing ball of fire shot at the flower, and the seeds disappeared. A tall goat-like woman presented herself.

"Oh, what a miserable creature, torturing such an innocent child." She clicked her tongue. "Do not be afraid, child. I am Toriel, the caretaker of the ruins! I was just walking through here to see if anyone has fallen down. It's been a while since I've last seen a human fall down here. Come, I will guide you through the catacombs."

You realized the world around you gained it's light back, and you could now clearly see the woman. She wore a long blue tunic with some strange crest woven in, over a white long-sleeve dress. She looked strangely like royalty.

You followed her up some stairs through a large door, feeling like an empty husk. That flower had intentions to kill you but, you were already dead. At least, that's what you thought. How else could you see such strange creatures? How else would you be able to see your soul separate from your body?

You trusted this woman as much as you trusted that flower back there. She was too nice, and you had a feeling it was an act. She probably wanted you dead too. It wasn't much different than your old life, only now things were actively trying to kill you.

 _Then kill them first._

The words echoed in your mind in your own voice. You've never had violent thoughts, and you didn't want to hurt anyone.

 _Even if they want to hurt you?_

That was a solid point, but-

 _Kill them._

You're not going to hurt anyone.

 _Kill them._

You don't need to, there are other ways to resolve conflict…

 _Kill them or they'll kill you._

 _Good. Let them kill me. If I'm not really dead, then it means I failed. They'll help me get what I wanted._

That seemed to settle the issue, for now.

Toriel had brought you to a room with 6 square panels on the floor and a switch on the wall.

"Welcome to the ruins, innocent one! Let me demonstrate the workings of your new home." She smiled down at you, then walked over four of the panels and pressed a switch. The door at the far end of the room opened.

"The ruins are full of puzzles; ancient fusions of diversions and doorkeys. Please get used to them, you'll be seeing them a lot!" She then went through the door ahead of you, but out of curiosity, you stepped on the other two buttons. Nothing happened.

"In this room, you will need to trigger several switches. Focus only on the one's I have labeled." This room had two bridges, each with clear water flowing underneath, and bundles of fragrant green leaves growing at the edges of the streams. A sign in front of you read "Use your eyes to read signs!" and one at the far wall read "Stay on the path." You had a feeling you were being babied and, as someone who considered himself pretty smart, you didn't appreciate it one bit.

Farther along the path, across the bridge, was a gold switch. Carefully painted next to the switch, a dialogue read "Please press this switch – Toriel". You knew it would have been the switch to press anyway, the path led right to it. Where the other humans that came here really that dumb?

Once you flipped the switch, Toriel nodded and moved to block the next entrance, although she didn't need to, since it was already blocked by spikes. Again, there was a switch coming off the path and another painted note. To the right of it, a switch was painted on the wall.

You boredly flipped the real switch and listened to Toriel, who seemed much too proud of your accomplishment.

"Very good! You are doing so well, little one! Come, let us move forward." Reluctantly, you followed her.

"As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. Worry not, for I will instruct you on how to overcome such a situation." Toriel moved to stand behind a dummy in the room. "When you encounter a monster, you need only to talk to it. Then I will come and resolve the conflict. Come practice on this dummy."

You approach a ragged sack of cloth shaped roughly like a body of some sort and give it a cold stare-down. You looked right into its beady plastic eyes, and you swear it started quivering. You squinted your eyes at it with intentions to intimidate. A few minutes passed like this, you looking down your nose at it and it seeming to sweat in fear, before it floated up and phased through the ceiling.

Toriel, who saw this strange phenomenon, was speechless, only raising her eyebrow at you with the most astonished look in the world. You met her gaze with deadpanned boredom. Really, you didn't know what this lady was trying to accomplish.

"L-let's move on then!" She clasped her hands together, finally breaking the awkward silence.

In the next room, the path bent in ninety degree angles that seemed to have no purpose.

"There is a puzzle to be solved in this room. I wonder if you'll be able to get it?" She walked to the centre of the room in a small hallway of sorts, watching you examine the floor. You had a feeling you needed to memorize this pattern for something else, though it wasn't that hard. Right when you were about to reach the hall, a large frog hopped in front of you.

You felt that same sensation from earlier and the world went black. The frog waited quietly, slowly bobbing its head. You had no idea what to do in this situation, so you just gave it that same mean squint that worked on the dummy. The frog started to shiver in fear, before small white gnats flew at your soul. They were pretty easy to dodge. After giving the frog a bored look, the world returned to normal and it hopped away. You felt like you gained nothing from that encounter and it was a big waste of time, like everything else here.

Maybe it was how devoid of life you already were, but you couldn't help but be disappointed that the afterlife was so dull.

When you passed through the hall, a metal plaque on the wall caught your eye. "The western room is in the eastern room's blueprint". You figured this meant the pattern on the floor, and followed Toriel to a floor of spikes.

Deciding you should probably get a second look at the pattern before dancing around on a death trap, you head back to the previous room. But something stopped you. You felt an overwhelming sense of fear, but for what, you didn't know. Perhaps you were imagining it but, you felt like you were being followed. You didn't even enter the eastern room before running back to Toriel, hoping she hadn't turned into some horrible creature. Right now, everything felt like it could go horribly wrong.

"What is the matter child? You look pale as a ghost." You tried to calm yourself down and put on a tough face, but also didn't want to stand here much longer, so you just shook your head and smiled weakly.

"Right, I understand. The ruins can be very stressful to a newcomer." She looked across the spikes. "Come, perhaps puzzles are too fearsome for now." Toriel grabbed your hand in her fuzzy paws and guided you across, seeming to know the path by heart.

You were met with a long corridor, and she turned to face you.

"I know you are afraid, my child, but there is something I must ask of you. It pains me to do this but," You tensed up in fear, preparing a method to dodge around her and run away. "I need you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Please forgive me." She ran off and hid (quite obviously) behind a lone column at the end of the path.

You eased and started walking, realizing your situation again. You didn't know why you got so afraid back there, but you should have known not to expect her to do something actually dangerous. It could be said that the woman was trying to get you to drop your guard, but you were smart. You always kept yourself sharp, even at times like these when things were so mind-numbingly boring.

It took you no time at all to reach the end of the room, and Toriel revealed herself from behind the column. You had tried to slip past it, hoping she wouldn't notice you leaving, but it seems she was watching out for you.

"Greetings, child! Fret not, I was merely behind this column this whole time. I know that may have been scary, but there was an important lesson to be had. I had to know of how independent you are. There are some things I must do alone, and I need you to stay here and wait for me. I will leave you this cellphone, in case of emergency." She handed you an old phone. It was a brick, with a yellow display and a worn number pad. It was similar to the ones you've seen your parents use when you were too little to even write. "Please be good." With that, she finally left.

Of course you weren't going to just stay there, but when you started to enter the next room, your phone rang.

"Hello? This is Toriel. You haven't left the room have you? There are some puzzles ahead that I have not yet explained, and I do not want you hurting yourself on them. Be good, alright?" Without waiting for a response, she hung up. You sighed, frustrated. You've only known the woman for half an hour and she's already turned your first impression of the afterlife sour. You could not feel more suffocated than now, you decided.

Upon entering the next room, a frog similar to the one you saw earlier sat to your left, but you didn't get close to it, not really feeling up to encountering any more monsters of any sort. You instead headed over to a particularly large and fluffy pile of leaves, grabbing a large handful and watching them flutter back down with the rest. But something else fluttered in front of you too that you hadn't noticed before.

In front of you floated a small creature, covered in grey wisps of cloth. It shook at the sight of you. You sort of pitied the creature, and gave it a reassuring, albeit very fake, smile.

Despite this, the creature burst into tears and flew away, as if you had personally insulted something very important to him. Rather than seeing this as entirely too extra, you only felt for the creature more, and wanted deeply to help it. You sprinted after the creature, determined to get a helpful word in to it.

You just saw it's figure disappear into an open doorway in the next room and continued to chase it down, not thinking about the fact that running after it might scare it more, when your foot caught on something and you felt yourself fall.

You landed hard on your butt and looked above you. Apparently, the floor up there had just given in under your weight. There was nothing in this room but two doors, so you decided to just take the right one. It led to a ladder, which you climbed, and found yourself in the room where you fell. An interesting trap, you thought, but not all that difficult to figure out.

You headed forward, when your phone rang yet again.

"Hello, this is Toriel! Just a random question with no meaning behind it whatsoever; do you prefer butterscotch, or cinnamon?" You sighed, getting more than tired of her presence.

"Cinnamon," you mumbled. It was the first time you had used your voice in a long time. It wasn't like you chose not to out of rebellion or were selectively mute or anything, you just didn't usually have the energy to socialize, and didn't usually see a point to try.

"Splendid! Thank you very much." She seemed pleased to hear your voice and satisfied with your answer, and hung up. But no later did she hang up than did your phone ring again. You gritted your teeth and answered it.

"This is Toriel again. Er, you do not _dislike_ butterscotch, do you? I know you prefer cinnamon but, would you deny food that also happened to have butterscotch in it?" You opened your mouth to speak but were annoyingly cut off. "Right, right, I understand. Thank you for your patience." She sounded like she wasn't even paying attention, like she was focused on something else, and finally hung up. Just to be sure, you stood there with the phone in your hand for another minute.

When it seemed she had nothing more to say, you slipped it back into your back pocket, but found that your notebook was taking up too much space. You had forgotten you had it back there. Or rather, you didn't think you'd still have it with you in the afterlife. You tiredly sat on a nearby rock and cracked it open.

From the cover of the book to about the middle, you kept a loose diary. Nothing interesting ever really happened in your life, so you usually just wrote about your dreams and fantasies, but there were still large gaps in time where you mentioned nothing. In the back of the book, you were writing a song, but the last time you had looked it over was about a week ago, when you snuck out of the house to hang out at your school.

Your parents were pretty strict about where you went and what you did, but over the years they had started to dull, and it became easier and easier to sneak out and gain your own interests. They had dreams for you to become a pianist one day, though you weren't sure why. They weren't exactly classy people; actually your family was pretty poor. But they still stuck you in the music program at school, somehow scraping together the fees every year for attendance to basic piano lessons.

Music became your escape. You're sure that if your parents were allowed to loom over you at school, they'd have a pretty strict say in what kind of music you played. They even told your music teacher (more like demanded her) to teach you to play only one thing. But you and your teacher had a pretty tight bond. She understood your situation and encouraged you to find your own path and define yourself. She was one of the first people you asked to call you Corvus instead of Caroline. She was also the only one who actually did. You trusted her with all of your secrets and problems, and she always had wisdom to impart to you.

But lately, you had been growing quiet. She didn't say anything, however, and you were grateful. You didn't want her talking you out of your plan. You only had one thing you wanted to finish before your departure, and that was your little song. She gladly let you use the piano, watching with concern as you tested out the same tune over and over again, as if it was the last thing you'd ever enjoy, but said nothing.

You read the notes over in your hand again, hearing each of them play in your head. You hoped that you played it enough times back at school, and that it wouldn't fade from your memory too quickly. In reality, you weren't that proud of the piece. It was only a series of slow, single notes, and you wished you had the talent or knowhow to make it more complicated and pretty, but it was all you could muster. Even so, it was a pretty tune, and each time you heard it, an odd feeling of nostalgia passed through you.

You closed the notebook and looked at the cover. It was a solid green with a white square towards the top centre. You got this book at the beginning of the schoolyear, but it wound up getting unused for any school related things, so you scribbled over your legal name with permanent marker and wrote your actual name below it. Sadly, you had written the first name in pen, and could still see the ugly thing scratched into the surface.

You gave a hollow sigh and got up. To your surprise, your feet didn't land where you had last placed them. You found yourself in a small dip in the ground. Behind you, the rock you were sitting on was now resting on a pressure plate.

You smiled and patted the rocks surface as you passed by to the next room.

The floor here was very cracked and worn, and you were initially afraid you'd fall right through like before. But upon closer inspection, you could immediately tell that some of the cracks were painted on, while others were real. It astounded you that whoever made this puzzle (probably Toriel) took the time to hand paint realistic cracks onto this path.

She really did have a talent for puzzle making, she just didn't know how to put it to proper use, you decided. While you carefully walked across the painted path, you started to feel bad for judging Toriel's excitement and how she held your hand through these puzzles. You remember when you were young and could still feel. You would get so excited to show others things you made, to the point that you would bug them endlessly to look at it and tell you that they liked it. But, like you now, they would brush it off or get annoyed and angry. You cursed yourself for being so rude to Toriel, and decided to at least feign excitement if she decided to show you more of her puzzles, or anything else she was interested in. You wouldn't let yourself get like them.

Suddenly, as you approached the next door, you felt it again. That following presence. You could even hear the soft footsteps behind you. They sounded familiar, somehow…

Your heart raced as you sped into the next room. Three rocks sat in more ditches. You hurriedly pushed two of them to the plates, but stopped when you got to the third.

"Woah their pardner, what's the rush?" You ignored the voice coming from it and pushed against it. It didn't budge. "You look like you're really in a hurry. Do you need me to move?" You briskly nod your head, not wanting to play this game right now. The rock moved about a pace forward. "How's thi-"

"PLEASE!" You yelled out in frustration.

"Jeez fine!" The rock slid all the way to the pressure plate. "You owe me kid." You ignored it and kept running.

You were stopped dead in your tracks by an odd sight. In the centre of the room, what seemed to be a comical sheet ghost laid in a small pile of leaves. It was quietly mumbling to itself.

When you got closer to it, you could hear what it was saying.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz(are they gone yet?)zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

It was saying 'z' out loud repeatedly, pretending to be asleep. You decided you'd need to move the ghost with force, and felt yourself being drawn into battle.

The ghost floated in front of you. Even though it was surrounded by a gloomy aura and looked on the verge of tears, you could hear a catchy, snappy tune playing from nowhere. The ghost sighed, shuddering weakly.

"H-hey buddy, what's the matter?" you inquired across the battlefield. The ghost only tightened its mouth as tears streamed down his face. Oddly enough, they didn't fall straight down, but instead floated towards your soul. You were almost too late in moving it out of the way, but even then you got hit. A low vibration rung throughout your body, and you felt oddly slightly weaker, though you couldn't tell how.

"Are you depressed? I know that feeling. It's ok to cry." As if on que, the ghost let out a long wail and more tears flung at you. You were prepared this time.

"This will pass. There's always time to make things better. You've just got to get up and face the world." You knew this was a lie firsthand, but you felt obliged to help this poor soul, and sometimes a comfortable lie doesn't hurt. The ghost breathed deeply, and you expected more tears, but instead it let out a long, shaky sigh.

"I'm not really feelin up to it right now… sorry…" You sighed, getting slightly frustrated, but you knew you had to be patient. It's what you'd want. Speaking of, what would you want to hear in this situation?

"That's fine, taking care of yourself is top priority; after all, you are very important!" The ghost smiled weakly at this, tears slowly rolling down his cheeks.

"Y-you really think so?"

"Of course I do! Everyone should be the most important person to themselves!"

The ghost smiled a little wider, and looked like it was preparing something. You looked on, curious, but ready.

"Let me try…" more tears came from the ghost's eyes, but instead of heading towards you, they floated up, and started forming a hat. "I call it 'Dapper Blook'… Do you like it?" You grin widely and nod. "Oh no…"

Slowly, the world around you gained color again, the ghost still lying in the pile of leaves. It started to mutter something to itself.

"I usually come to the ruins because there's nobody here but… today I met somebody nice…" he sat up and looked at you. "O-oh sorry, I'm just rambling… I'll get out of your way." Sure enough, the ghost disappeared from where it sat, and you could pass.

You felt something strange in your chest, something familiar. You felt just a small portion of your feelings come back. It wasn't enough to make you not a husk, but it gave you hope, and filled you with determination. You completely forgot that you were being followed and pressed forward.

 _Sorry this first chapter is pretty boring, since it's just a retelling of what you go through in the ruins, but the next chapter is where things start to get unique and fun (imo), so please have patience ; v ; i hope you enjoyed this none the less, and i'd love to hear what you guys thought, good or bad. ps again you can go see what corvus looks like at 6ftslugdottumblrdotcom/tagged/doctor-corvus_


	2. A Reason to Live

You decided that this tree matched your personal aesthetic quite nicely. It was pitch black and actually made of stone, and limestone from miles above you slowly dripped on the structure. You couldn't figure out any reason why this stalagmite would be shaped this way, but you weren't complaining.

You had stepped into this area after a few more puzzles. You had to admit, the last few were pretty creative, especially the one where the room would shift when you passed though the next door. Though, you didn't quite know why it would need to. You had even bought a spider donut and a jug full of what tasted like apple cider.

Now you stood staring at this oddity of nature, before noticing what was behind it. A small, cozy house was tucked into the end of the cavern, a stark contrast to the cold cave walls and stone floors. When you approached, a wonderful smell wafted its way to your nose. It smelled warm and sweet.

You walked right on in, not even bothering to knock, since you were pretty sure you knew who lived here. The inside was even warmer, and you were drawn to where the scent came from. You passed by a low burning fireplace and empty reading chair, and into a kitchen. Sure enough, Toriel was inside, magically applying fire to a golden pie in what seemed to be a very well-known and practiced fashion for her. You walked up behind her, but you must have been pretty quiet, for when she looked over and saw you there, she jumped and caught the curtain on fire.

"O-oh! H-how did you get here, child?" she quickly pat out the small fire, but the curtain still had a charred black edge to it. You shrugged.

"Walked."

"Ah…" Toriel looked down at you, and you looked back up at her with the same bored expression you always wore. "Well, I suppose I cannot keep it a secret much longer." She motioned to the pie she was baking, which seemed done. "Ta-da! I made us a cinnamon-butterscotch pie to celebrate your arrival! Today's a special day, so I will hold off on snail pie for tonight." She moved the pie tin from the stove to a cooling rack on the counter, then looked down at you again and winked. "But first, we must let it cool. Come along. I have something else to show you."

You could tell she was really happy by how she almost skipped across the house, with you in tow. It was sort of cute. You two stopped in front of a door in the hall when she turned back to you.

"A room of your very own! I want you to have the best stay you can while you're down here. Please, go inside and take a look!" She clasped her hands together, watching you with a wide grin as you opened the door.

The room was small and quaint. It looked as if it were meant for children slightly younger than you, with stuffed toys and small shoes and crayon art, but it was not uncomfortable. The bed fit just right and was very soft, and suddenly you realized how tired you were. As if reading your mind, Toriel spoke up.

"Ah, why don't you take a nap? I will be here when you wake up, so do not worry. Then we will both enjoy that pie. Goodnight, child." She then closed the door and quietly padded off.

You're initial fear of her had faded off. Although it may have been true that she had ulterior motives, what did it matter? You'd just get what you wanted, and that wasn't so bad. You laid your head down and slowly dozed off.

You knew this place well. Your feet sunk into the stretchy elastic, but by now you were an expert at moving over it. Oddly, you felt none on you. You actually felt nothing on you, and nothing that was you, you felt like nothing. Where had you gone? Could it be that once you died, you left? That's not right, you heard you earlier today, both your voice and your gait. They were you. Were you chasing after you? Why couldn't you just come back in? You had never left before, so you didn't really know what was going on.

You reached the edge, where the elastic gave way to a sharp, white, abrasive surface. You looked down below to a familiar sight. It was a white, glowing orb, which had to be miles long at least. However, inside, instead of seeing a writhing ball of bandages, there was nothing. This was more than strange. Why wasn't your cage there? Where had you gone to?

Wait, there was something there. It was faint, but you saw it. There! There it was again. It swam across the surface, leaving a cloud trail behind it. It was a solid, flat piece of green. You didn't know what it was or why it was there, but the more you saw it, the more you liked it.

You woke up feeling as empty as when you went to sleep, but now also confused. Had your astral body really been detached from your physical body? Why else would you have been nothing, and seen nothing in your heart? You shook these thoughts away and flicked on the light. In the centre of the room was a plate with a slice of pie. You smiled to yourself, picked it up, and ate it on your way out to where you thought you'd see Toriel sitting.

And sure enough, there she sat, in front of the fire place, reading a book with cute little reading glasses. She put the book down and smiled when she heard you approaching.

"Good afternoon, did you sleep well?" You nod your head. "And I see your enjoying the pie. That's lovely. I want you to know how happy I am to have you here. There are quite a few books I would like to share with you, and I'd like to show you my favorite bug hunting spot. Also, I've prepared a curriculum for your education. It may seem surprising but, I've always wanted to be a teacher!" You give a small chuckle. "Well, perhaps it is not so surprising. Still… I am glad to have you living here. Oh, was there something you wanted?" You thought for a second before taking a deep breath.

"I want to know where I am."

"Why, you're in the Ruins, of course."

"No, I mean. Is this the afterlife?" Toriel laughed heartily at your question.

"Ohoho, no, of course not child! You and I are very much alive." You looked down, your suspicions being confirmed. Toriels look also went serious. "Why?"

"I just… I fell quite a long way, didn't I? I thought perhaps I had died." You smiled, hoping she wouldn't notice the lie. Luckily, she seemed to buy it.

"Ah. Well, you are in the Underground, where monsters such as myself live. But…" She chewed her lip, as if contemplating if she should tell you something or not. "…Well, the rest of the underground, is very dangerous, especially for a human. I would advise you to never go out there."

"Fair enough." Toriel looked up at you with wide eyes, and honestly you were a little surprised at yourself as well. After all, you came down here to die, so why would you choose to stay somewhere safe?

You looked down at Toriel, who's eyes were starting to water. This was why. You didn't understand it but, you knew you had to do this, for her. She knelt on the ground in front of you and scooped you into a warm hug.

"Child, I promise that for as long as you live here, I will do everything in my power to make you as happy as possible." You wrapped your arms around her as well, her back shaking slightly.

You felt something in your heart, like a piece being clicked into a puzzle, and you felt a little more whole. Not quite alive, but getting there.

You had spent one year there in your new home. Toriel tried to teach you things your age level, but you were much more advanced than that. Thankfully, she was able to get together a new curriculum for about high school level work. Her method of teaching was much more effective than those of the teachers back at school. She sparked a real interest in you for the things she'd teach, but more than the others, you enjoyed her teachings of history.

In school, they never taught you about monsters. No one had ever heard of the great war between humans and monsters, no one knew what their ancestors had done. It was kind of sad to know that the spoils of victory were getting to trap and forget about an entire race for uncounted millennia. But more than the war, monster's had their own decade-to-decade history. They had their fair share of influential idols, rebellion leaders, ground breaking riots, and impossible scientists. But overall, monsters seemed to have a much more peaceful life than the humans above, who were constantly at war with each other.

On the morning of your thirteenth birthday, Toriel skipped getting you up on time and snuck to the basement. She knocked on the large door there, waiting for a response. But no one came. She sighed and sat there, hoping he was on his way.

Ten minutes later, two pairs of footsteps crunched up to the door, and she heard a knock. Giddy, she clapped her hands and answered.

"Who's there?" Outside she heard a muffled man's voice.

"you wanna answer?" A woman's voice quietly answered him.

"Uh, no, n-not really… H-hey!" Toriel heard scuffling outside before someone finally called through the door. "H-hello, your majesty! S-sans told me, to, uh, to try and find some books f-for you?"

"Ah, you must be Dr. Alphys then! Splendid! And please, call me Toriel."

"Ok, uhm, d-do you wanna hear what I brought? You, you know, so I don't waste your t-time with things you d-don't need?"

"Sure, let us hear it!" Toriel heard a package being placed to the ground and opened, and its contents being shifted around.

"L-let's see, uh… 'An Advanced Study of T-time and its Properties', 'Masterpieces – A C-collection of the Greatest Authors of the Underground', 'Encyclopedia of Mental Ailments'…" Aphlys continued to list off about 10 more books, each with titles suggesting they covered pretty advanced subjects. Toriel was more than pleased.

"Oh! Those all sound lovely, I'm sure they'll love it! How much do I owe you?"

"A-actually, I paid for them m-myself, you don't have to worry about it."

"Nonsense! Surely you'd want something in return?"

"Uh, uhhh…" Alphys started to sweat a little, already knowing the queen would deny her request, but she figured it couldn't hurt too bad to ask, right? "U-uh, I was w-wondering if, maybe, o-one day you'd let me, you know, s-see the kid?"

Toriels breath froze. She was already getting used to the child being around, even thinking of them as her own. She had pushed the thought of them leaving to the back of her mind, never wanting to think about it. But she knew that one day the child would grow restless and wish to explore the rest of the Underground, even if they didn't want to go back to the surface. It was just the harsh truth.

"I'll… I'll see what I can do. Please be patient."

Alphys could hear the queen's melancholy tone, but couldn't stop her own relief and glee. She hopped a little in place and clapped her hands.

"I-I'll just send the book right over!"

Toriel heard some odd noises, some beeps and whirs and electricity, then suddenly a sound behind her. A box landed squarely in the middle of the room, little bits of electricity still fading off of it.

"Thank you, good doctor. I hope to hear from you again soon."

"T-thanks again!" One pair of feet quickly scuffled off, and another started to, but was stopped.

"Sans?"

"what's up?" Toriel breathed deeply. She knew this was something she needed to do.

"If the human ever- no… When the human comes through this door, could you please, please promise me something?" She paused, taking another shaky breath. "Watch over them, and protect them. Will you not?" She heard nothing for a few seconds, and when she started to fear he had left, she heard him speak.

"'course I can do that." Toriel let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. And tell Dr. Alphys I said thank you as well. Not just for the company, or the books, but for being open and willing to accept this human. It really gives me hope."

"no problem. later, Toriel."

"Until next time, Sans."

She heard him walk off, but she took a moment to sit there. She shook her head. Now was not the time to think about this, it was your child's birthday, after all!

When you looked at the clock on the wall, it showed it was close to 11 am. Toriel had not woken you up at 7 like she usually did, and you accidently slept in. You hoped she wasn't mad.

You got up and stretched. You didn't feel much different being 13. That is to say, you still felt like a walking corpse. Toriel had caught on by now, though you weren't exactly trying to hide it. The days you wouldn't get out of bed. The weeks you'd spend not showering. How you'd eat everything in the house one day and the next not be able to keep down one egg. The nights where you'd spend hours just crying, hoping she wouldn't hear you.

But she did. She noticed all of it, she just didn't say anything. You weren't mad, you knew she tried to help you the best she could. She taught you your favorite subjects, she made your favorite foods (you actually quite liked snail pie), she hung out with you everywhere you liked to go and told you silly jokes. She was the best mother anyone could ask for, no doubt. You constantly felt guilty for not being happy with her, but you like to think she understands. Nothing in the world could make you happy; you were not made to be happy.

You quickly got dressed and brushed your hair. Despite being a boy, you quite liked your hair longer. It only came down to just above your shoulders, but it was by no means a 'boys cut'. You thought it was stupid that there was such a thing as boys' hair and girls' hair. Why does everything have to be split into boys' or girls' categories? At least Toriel didn't seem to do that, she always referred to you with gender-neutral terms, and let you have whatever interests you wanted. Unlike your real parents, who scolded you for liking or not liking various things.

You were leaving your room when you heard someone come up the stairs. Toriel only had one rule, and that was that you never went down that staircase. At first she didn't tell you why, but eventually caved when she figured you weren't really interested in leaving. Apparently, the door to the rest of the Underground was in that basement. You wondered why monsters from the other side didn't just walk right in then, but you weren't that concerned about it.

"Morning mom."

"Ah!" Toriel jumped, moving to try and hide the box from your view. Though it didn't really matter, you couldn't see what was inside anyway. "C-Corvus! Do not frighten me like that!" You chuckled and said an apology, following her to the living room. She placed the box on the table, which shook under the weight. It must have been heavy, whatever it was. She then bent a little to look at you.

"Corvus, I have a very important request to ask of you." You nodded your head, and she led you by the hand back to her room, then handed you an empty bucket. "I need you to go collect some snails and parsley. And please, do take your time and enjoy yourself!" You smiled knowingly as she ushered you out the front door. You knew what she was up to, sly old woman. You shook your head and walked off.

On your way to the streams, you passed by a familiar face. Or, body, rather.

"Hey Napstablook." The ghost jumped from where it stood. Seemed like he was really enjoying himself, staring at that wall. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Ah, s-sorry, am I in your way?"

"Nah, not at all. What are you looking at?" Napstablook moved back a little so you could see.

You looked where he seemed to be looking, and to your surprise, you found an extraordinarily small frog!

"He says his name is Alejandro."

"Hello, Alejandro."

"He says your breath smells like rotting snails." You squinted your eyes at the frog meanly.

"Goodbye, Alejandro." You back up and face the ghost again. "Wanna walk with me? I gotta pick up snails for mom."

"Are you s-sure I wouldn't be a bother?" You smiled at him, motioning him to follow you. He gave a small smile back. Together, you two quietly walked to the streams.

Finally, Napstablook spoke up.

"H-hey, today's your birthday right?" You nod your head at him as you bent down in the damp mud and filled the bucket partly with water. "Well, I found something at the dump, that I think you'll like."

"Oh?" You looked intently into the water, scooping up any particularly large snails.

"I'm sorry… I can't tell you what it is. You aren't mad about that, are you?"

"Of course not, presents are supposed to be a surprise." The ghost seemed relieved.

You two passed the time talking about nothing and harvesting snails and plants. Napstablook was your main connection to the rest of the Underground. He told you about the king, King Asgore, and his plan to destroy humanity. He told you about Undyne and her drive for hunting humans. About Alphys the mysterious scientist, and Mettaton, a famous robot TV celebrity, at least, famous in the Underground. The rest of the Underground sounded so busy and interesting, but also dangerous for a human like you. More and more, you wished you could experience the rest of this odd community.

Napstablook followed you all the way to your house, though he seemed to disappear without saying anything when you actually got there. You shrugged it off, thinking he probably did say something but you didn't hear it. Now he was going to think you were ignoring him. Oh well, that was an issue to deal with another time.

You opened the door at about 3 pm. Three hours was enough time to get together a small celebration, you figured. When you opened the door, everything was pitch black. You smiled and turned into the living room, knowing what would happen next.

"Surprise!" Toriel's voice boomed as all the lights flashed on. Admittedly, you did jump a little, and threw on a great big smile.

You expected it to just be Toriel, but there was a few other guests as well; Whimsum, Froggits A, B, and C (you guessed Alejandro wouldn't come after you blew your gross snail breath all over him), Misop, Loox, Moldsmal. The only one that was missing was-

"S-sorry, I had to go get your present…" Napstablook floated in through the window, holding a rather large electric piano with no stand. Oddly enough, the piano phased through as well, though it seemed pretty solid. All of your friends were here. That was more than you could ever say for your time above ground.

You beamed. Of course, you weren't actually happy, you felt just as grey as ever, but you had gotten good at pretending, for everyone else's sake.

After playing an odd array of music and enjoying cake, everyone bombarded you to open your presents. Misop got you a cd full of old hip hop music from about a decade ago, Loox got you a toy knife, and Whimsum gave you a long blue ribbon. They were simple gifts, but you knew the ruins wasn't really filled with interesting things to give to others, so you appreciated what they could find.

Toriel's gift was obviously in the big box. It was wrapped neatly with a bow stuck on top. You neatly tore it open and looked inside.

Thirteen books were stacked neatly inside. You pulled them out one by one and read their titles out loud. They all sounded very interesting to you, but the other guests all seemed to think they sounded boring and lame. Thankfully, however, they did not pick on your interest in them, but you still felt bad for liking things others considered lame.

One really caught your eye, 'Encyclopedia of Mental Ailments'. Back when you lived with your real family, you did quite a bit of reading on mental illness, and concluded that you needed help. But when you brought it up to your parents, they showed no interest in taking you to therapy or anything of the sort. They told you to stop being so sensitive and life would hurt less. That was easier said than done, but you tried. You tried and tried until you were a wandering husk, a reactionless zombie. But you were still depressed, and now you couldn't figure out how to get the rest of your emotions back.

Toriel seemed to notice your grim expression at the sight of the book and suggested you try out Napstablook's present.

You walked up to the electric piano, Napstablook smiling meekly behind it. It was already plugged in and set on the table. You grinned widely at him.

"You remembered that I like playing the piano!"

"O-of course, how could I forget my frien-" he stopped, as if he were about to curse. You chuckle.

"Well, I'm glad you remembered, it shows you care about me. You're a really good friend, Napstablook." The ghost grinned as widely as it could, which wasn't that wide, and little tears formed in his eyes.

You sat down in front of the piano and rested your hands over it. It was a little worn, but everything worked fine. It wasn't even that old.

"Ah, hold on…" you got up and went into your room to grab something, and soon reemerged. You opened your notebook to the back and rested it against the stack of books.

You began to play, and the room went silent, save for your music. It was a short little tune that you played about 3 or 4 times over, before stopping and looking to see everyone's reaction. No one clapped. No one said they were proud. They all just sat there in silence.

"I know it's simple but, is it really that bad?" You looked to anyone around you that would give you an answer. Even Loox, who frequently picked on you for no reason, had nothing to say. Finally, Toriel spoke up.

"My child, where did you hear that tune?"

"This?" You pointed to you notebook. "I wrote it myself a couple years ago. Why?" Toriel leaned on a chair for support and looked down. It looked like she was about to cry.

"That is the Royal Lullaby, child. There is no way you could have heard it above ground…"

After an awkward silence, the other monsters slowly filed out. They thanked Toriel for having them over, and told you happy birthday one last time. When all of them had left, you and Toriel sat in silence. You looked up timidly at Toriel, who was looking at the fire across the room.

"Are you mad at me?" She sighed.

"No, Corvus. I am simply, confused, is all." She then got up. "Please, come with me." You followed her out of the house.

You two walked in silence for a good ten minutes before entering a dark cave. You knew this cave, but you hadn't seen it in a long time. It wasn't like you were ignoring it, you just had no reason to come back here.

She hesitated before looking back to you, as if to see if you were ok with this. You said nothing, and you two pressed forward.

Then, you were there; the hole where you should have died. You both looked up at the now rotting structure. Slowly, Toriel cast small fireballs to it, and it easily caught on fire, despite possibly being damp. She drew you towards her with her arm in a comforting side hug, and you watched your handiwork turn to ash. But you weren't mad. Somehow, seeing this made you feel stronger, like you were destroying a part of your past that was keeping you weak. Tears came to your eyes, and you didn't try to stop them. Toriel knelt in front of you and scooped you into a tight embrace.

"Corvus, my child, I want you to know that you are very strong. I am certain that you could handle any conflict in your path, but more importantly, you would do it without causing pain. You are very brave." With each word, you broke down more and more, until your knees gave out and you were practically laying on her. No one had ever told you these things, and while you could feel your mind try and reject them, there was something about the way she said it that made it stick to you.

When you felt strong enough to stand on your own, you did, and Toriel leaned back to look you in the face.

"That being said, I believe that there is something more to you knowing that song. I believe there is an important reason for you being here, not just for the Ruins, but for the entire Underground. Do you understand what I am saying?" You nodded, you think you did.

"As much as it pains me, one day, you must leave this place. I think that you need to be out there, and I do not think it is to shatter the barrier. No, you are only the sixth child to fall down here, and the barrier can only be broken with seven human souls. Still, my point stands. Corvus…" You looked up and into her eyes; they too had tears in them.

"You may not see yourself as worthy of life, you may think that there is no way to make yourself good enough. And I know that nothing I say can make you not believe that wretched lie, but I may be able to convince you of this; you can live for others, Corvus. You can give every ounce of love you have to those who also need it. And I believe that if you fill yourself with love, and caring, and good will for others, then nothing in the world could corrupt you. So please," Toriel now had tears streaming down her furry cheeks, "Please promise me that you will live for this reason?"

You nodded and buried your head back into your mother's warm fur. As ash slowly settled around you, you felt something come back to you. It made your heart beat and your face crack into a wide grin. You felt brave.


	3. Rebelion

You spent most night staring down at your heart. It was a beautiful sight, and ever since 3 years ago, it's had four patches of color on it; green, blue, and orange, and purple. The purple patch has always been there.  
It was nice for your mind to be so quiet, even if it was a little unsettling to have no astral body. You laid on the abrasive surface, but you weren't uncomfortable at all. You're mind wasn't yet at peace, but this was so much better than constant discord and threats of violence.  
You woke to the sound of something behind you, but you didn't turn around. You knew that sound; you've heard it frequently since you first fell. It was you. Not your physical body, but your astral one. An astral body is different than a ghost in that it's much less capable in being physical. But when they weren't in a physical body, you found, they did try very hard. It almost made you pity it, that it was trying so hard to be terrifying but all it could muster was a stomp here and a breath there.  
That's what you told yourself. Your astral body wasn't scary, you had known it your whole life, how could you find it scary? You sighed and turned over in bed, knowing you wouldn't see anything. Oh how wrong you were.  
You froze when you saw it. It was you, from head to toe, but it was grotesque. Its hair was disheveled, and you couldn't even see the top half of its face, save for reflections on the eyes. Its mouth was a thin line dividing what was below the jaw and what was above. Its body was stark white and bony and covered in ace bandages. Its entire body convulsed and twitched, and then it took a step towards you.  
You took no time in screaming as loud as you could.  
Two seconds later, Toriel burst in the room and the abomination disappeared. She immediately collapsed to your bedside and scooped you in an embrace.  
"What is wrong, my child?" She asked hurriedly. You said nothing, just sitting there in her arms and letting her warmth slow your pounding heart. You knew what it looked like, why were you afraid? You shook your head.  
"I- I just had a nightmare, mom. I'm ok. I think I'd like to get up early, though." You leaned away from each other, though she kept her hands gripping your shoulders. She was wrapped in a cotton robe over a nightgown and sleep still tugged at her eyes, but she smiled none-the-less.  
"That is fair, Corvus. I will prepare some breakfast than." She stood up and turned on the lights before leaving the room.  
You squinted your eyes, and when you were well adjusted to the light, you got out of bed and threw on jeans and a large hoodie. Thankfully, you couldn't feel your other self's presence anymore.  
You and Toriel ate a hearty breakfast of French toast and eggs, and soon got to your lesson. By now, she must have been teaching you college level things. You found it odd how much she could teach you; each year you found yourself thinking that there's no way this old goat lady could know anything about this or that subject, but she always did.  
After a while, she stopped teaching you things you weren't interested in. She said that if you had no interest in it, you wouldn't actually learn it, but would just forget it in time. That made sense to you. So now all she taught you was science, literature, and history.  
Your lessons ran into the afternoon, with little breaks here and there, and you thanked her again for teaching you and ran to your room. You threw on your backpack and ran outside. You didn't hear it, but Toriel giggled at your enthusiasm.  
There was someone you were looking forward to meeting today. Well, you looked forward to meeting him a lot of days. You and Napstablook didn't hang out every day, but you did hang out more and more.  
But today was special. You and him had been planning this for a few weeks, and you yourself had been planning something else in secret. Today promised to be exciting.  
He was where he said he would be, in a small room below one of the false floor traps. He was floating back and forth nervously when you fell in.  
"Ah! D-don't scare me like that Corvus…" You chuckled.  
"What do you want me to do, fall quietly?" You winked, and you think he blushed? It was hard to tell on his semitransparent face. He ignored your question and just watched you quietly as you pulled something out of your backpack.  
It was a worn yellow plague mask. It wasn't a real one from the bubonic plague days, you're sure anything like that would be burned or kept in safe areas. But it _was_ old, which made it even cooler. You slipped it on and looked up to Napstablook.  
"How do I look?" you asked while putting on some old leather gloves.  
"S-spooky." He smiled weakly. You put your backpack back on and then suddenly and forcefully pulled him to you by the waist. He turned a dark grey at the cheeks. Ok, he was definitely blushing. You grinned triumphantly under the mask.  
"You g-gotta, gotta stop m-messing with me Corvus!" He pouted, and suddenly you were in an unfamiliar area. An unfamiliar and very cold area.  
You're eyes grew big at the sight around you. Real trees rose towards the ceiling, which couldn't be seen through the heavy, snowing clouds. How was this even possible? The Underground sure had some strange science going on.  
"Hey, are y-you scared?" You looked back down to your friend and shook your head.  
"But I am psyched as hell, what about you?" You weren't actually that excited, but you were hoping you could get him pumped.  
"I'm, a little scared…" He dropped his head.  
You walked up to him and put your hand where you thought his shoulder might be.  
"Hey, we're gonna do great, ok? We're probably the most practiced people here, so don't worry about it!" He smiled slightly at your encouragement, and you grinned in return. You liked when you could make him smile.  
He showed you the piano you would be using and his portable turntable. You both carried your equipment and followed a path out of the forest.  
Soon enough, you both reached a cozy town with a sign that labeled it Snowdin. You were nervous as you passed by other monsters, but they seemed to pay you no mind. Slowly, you relaxed.  
You reached a bustling restaurant called Grillby's and managed to force your way inside. Well, you did, while Napstablook just phased though everyone. Lucky him.  
Inside, it was packed, mostly with dogs. But there were an arrangement of other monsters there as well. So many that every seat was full and some people had to stand. They all sat facing a small wooden stage. You marveled at how diverse monsters were.  
"Hello! Are you two here for the talent show?" You approached a smartly dressed woman with a clipboard, who was guarding the door backstage. She had a chubby cat-like face with four clear eyes and long, white hair that reached her calves. She was a little taller than you, but only barely.  
You and Napstablook nodded, told her your names, and the name of the song you'd be playing.  
A few weeks ago, Napstablook proposed to take you out of the Ruins. He said that there's a town called Snowdin, and that they were having a talent show at this restaurant and that he though you two should join. It was real sweet of him, so of course you accepted. He showed you a song from a cartoon he found that he said you two could play. You didn't see how, neither of you sang, and the instruments were completely different, but you couldn't say no to him. Besides, it wasn't like you knew a different song.  
So here you both sat backstage in the midst of a bunch of sweaty and nervous monsters. You felt like the odd man out, and couldn't keep yourself from getting nervous again. However, Napstablook seemed to be in his element and gave you an excited smile. Just a few minutes ago, it was quite the opposite.  
When you were next in line, you could see a clear view of the stage. Several bunny-like kids performed a gymnastics/dance routine, and you had to admit, they were pretty good. Finally, everyone applauded, and your names were called. You could hear your heart pounding in your ears, but your companion nudged you forward.  
There you were, on the stage. Napstablook set up his turntable, and you set up your piano, looking out at the audience as you did so. They weren't paying too much attention just yet, but still, it felt strange to have all these people looking up at you. You felt extraordinarily hot in that mask.  
You looked back to Napstablook, who seemed ready and gave you a nod. You took a deep breath and played the first note. There was no turning back now.  
You could hear Napstablook singing rather confidently behind you, while you mumbled the lyrics questioningly. But it didn't take but a couple seconds to get in the rhythm. The monsters below nodded their head to the music, and you found yourself swaying your hips with the tune. It was just as fun as practice.  
"emEverybody needs a friend, and I've got you, and you, and you. So many I can't even name them can you blame me I'm too famous…/em" No one could see, but you were beaming under your mask. The feeling of everyone looking up to you, smiling, enjoying what you were doing for once; you felt your heart swell with pride.  
The song ended soon after that and everyone applauded. You walked over to Napstablook, guided him to the front of the stage, and bowed with him, before taking your instruments away and going back stage.  
About 10 or so more acts came after you, so you just waited there with Napstablook. You were offered water but had to decline it, despite how thirsty you really were. You and your friend enthused about how fun that was and how everyone seemed to love you, but soon the excitement ran out and you were left nervously waiting for them to call the winners.  
You won third place, after a magic act (with real magic; you felt like that wasn't fair) and the bunny dance team. As you all stood and received your awards, you looked again at the audience. Everyone was clapping as names were called and awards were handed over, save for one person in the very back of the room. He stood in the dark so you could barely see what he looked like.  
As if they could feel you looking at them, they turned and immediately locked eyes with you. There was something strange about them; the only thing you could see of them was two glowing blue rings. One of them disappeared for half a second, before they turned back to whatever they were looking at. Did they just wink at you? You shook your head as all the acts filed off the stage to mingle with the rest and probably celebrate. Monsters had magic, and if there was anything cartoons taught you, it's that sometimes people who have magic also have glowing eyes. Honestly, why did you even find their eyes odd?  
You and Napstablook went over to the bar. As you approached, you scanned the area were you saw them, but they were nowhere to be found. Whatever, they probably left as soon as there was nothing left to watch. Your stomach growled suddenly, the smell of deep fried food filling your nose, even through the old leather smell of the mask.  
The person behind the counter, to your surprise, was made of fire. He looked to be a young man, but he was sharply dressed for his age. Oddly enough, you found yourself thinking he was rather attractive. Though, since your time down here, you have found odd things to be attractive. Perhaps it was your hormones, but it didn't matter to you, you wouldn't fight it.  
Napstablook ordered you both lunch, though it was almost dinner time. You had to ask for yours to-go, even as your stomach protested. Napstablook got a plate of some ectoplasmic oddity shaped roughly like food. You grimaced at it, but he seemed to enjoy it.  
When he was done, you fought your way out of the establishment. Don't get it twisted, you liked the attention and compliments, but knowing they would fade off and turn to hatred in your mind in about ten minutes, it was hard to pay them much attention.  
Napstablook led you towards a clearing that dropped off into a river. There, a fully cloaked man stood in a long boat. You both got in and Napstablook told the man you were headed to a place called Waterfall.  
"Then we're off!" The riverperson hummed a jolly tune, and the boat sped forward.  
You sat in silence, watching the walls of the cave turn from grey to blue, and feeling the weather get warmer. Not so warm that you got hot, however. Suddenly, the riverperson broke the silence, their sing-songy voice changing pitch constantly.  
"There is a masked man who lives there. I wonder if you've seen him." He chuckled and went back to humming.  
You smiled to yourself. Of course you and Napstablook knew you were in a mask, but you wondered if this river person did as well. You shook your head. There was no way he could know.  
You finally arrived at another stop in a very blue and very wet area. You thanked the riverperson and they nodded in return, before going back to standing there, quietly humming.  
If you thought Snowdin was impossibly beautiful, than Waterfall was absolutely divine. Every surface of the caverns was covered in a soft blue moss, water trickled from the ceiling, and occasionally, far up above, you could see a faint blue glimmer, making you think the roof was made of gemstones. Most curious of all was the glowing blue flowers, which all seemed to be whispering something.  
Finally, you arrived at two oddly shaped houses, one white and one pink. Napstablook unlocked the white one, and you both slipped inside.  
The inside of the house was much less impressive than the outside. The only things on this floor were a fridge, a TV, a computer, some cobwebs, and a lot of dust. So much dust that you were kind of afraid to take your mask off, but your stomach had other ideas, so reluctantly you did.  
As soon as you did, you tore into your meal. It wasn't as good as Toriel's cooking, but you really didn't care. You finished it in less than five minutes, and Napstablook floated there, looking impressed.  
"Uh, y-you ready?" You cleaned up your mess and nodded, and both of you laid on the ground next to each other.  
Ever since you started hanging out together more, you guys had started eating together sometimes as well. You must have been almost 14 the first time, and you couldn't stop giggling at the awkward silence, which caused him to get pretty upset. But soon you got used to it, to the point were sometimes you'd lie on your own bed after a meal at home. It really was relaxing, to not have to feel pressured to say anything to each other, but just lay down and mutually feel like garbage.  
But this time, you couldn't relax. You'd been pushing this to the back of your head the whole day, and now was finally the time. You wish you had some of that confidence you had this afternoon. You shook your head. You had to get yourself together; you're supposed to be the strong supportive one here. You took a deep breath.  
"N-Napstablook?" Your voice came out a dry whisper, and you could almost feel him sulk at you breaking the silence. You sat up, but he remained lying down. You were too afraid to look at him, but you knew you had to.  
In one quick move, you hovered your face over his, and you saw his expression change from annoyed to flustered very quickly. You could feel your face get hot, and you wanted more than anything to just get up and leave, but you couldn't, you had to do this.  
You awkwardly pressed your mouth against his, and immediately sat up and faced away from him.  
"Oh…"  
"…Sorry…" You drew your knees up to your chest and buried your face in your arms.  
You felt a cold sensation on your shoulder, and looked back behind you to see him sitting up, facing you with a small smile. You smiled back, and started nervously chuckling.  
After a second of both of you laughing in relief, you put your hand up to his face again, bringing it close. You had both closed your eyes, and you could feel the air around your face cool down, despite how sweaty you were.  
Then you felt your phone ring. Your heart sank to your knees; it had to be Toriel. You drew your face away and put your phone up to your ear.  
"Hello, this is Toriel." She sounded unusually cheery. You were in trouble.  
"H-hey mom, what's up?"  
"It's awfully late; don't you think it's time to come home?"  
"Ah, uh, yeah, I'll b-be right over!"  
"Excellent. Oh, and Corvus?"  
"Yes ma'am?"  
"Tell Napstablook you won't be seeing him for a few days. See you soon, child." Click.  
You were emreally in trouble.

Napstablook dropped you off immediately in front of your house, then vanished without saying good bye. You were hurt, and tears formed in your eyes before you even walked in the door.  
Toriel was sitting calmly in her arm chair, seemingly doing nothing but waiting for you to get home. The smell of a hearty soup wafted into your nose, only making you more upset. You stood in the entryway of to the living room and sulked against the frame, not saying anything. You didn't need to.  
"You thought I would not find out, did you not?"  
You said nothing.  
"Answer me child."  
You solemnly nod your head, still not looking at her.  
"That is right. As your mother, I have my ways of finding out where you are." Toriel stood up and approached you, and you stubbornly looked farther away from her. "My child, I love you, and I am only trying to protect you, do you understand? Out there, if someone were to see you, you could get hurt, or worse…" Toriel placed one of her paws on your shoulders and lowered her tone. "You are not yet strong enough, Co-"  
"Well when _will_ I be strong enough, _Toriel_?" You stepped back and swatted her hand away, earning a very hurt expression from your mother.  
"I mean, I've been down here for four years already, it's not like I'm doing a whole lot of changing! I'm still just as weak as when I flung myself down here!"  
"Corvus…"  
"How about this; how about you let me decide when I'm strong enough? It's been four years and you barely know me! What am I gonna have to do to prove myself, huh? Kill somethi-"  
"CORVUS HALTIER." You stopped immediately, your eyes wide. Your mother had never yelled at you, or yelled at all. But right now, you could practically see the fire building in her eyes, and you could literally see it building in her hands. You've never been more scared of this woman in your life.  
"Go. To. Your. Room." She said through gritted teeth.  
You huffed and turned around, made sure to slam your door extra loud when you got to your room, and threw yourself face first into your bed, sobbing.  
"You really fucked up this time." You heard yourself say behind you, sounding like sin incarnate.  
"Shut up," you mumbled into your pillows.  
"You know how to prove yourself."  
"SHUT UP!" You screamed, and sobbed harder. Your astral self grinned as it felt you lose your grip on your newfound feelings.  
But you won't give up. Not after you came so far.  
 _In which Corvus is a cringedgy teen. I'm gonna make a thing for it pay attention to my blog.  
 **Edit** : really don't know what happened with the styling? i fixed it but sorry if it looks different from the other chapters. thanks a lot those of you who pointed it out, i wouldn't have ever known cause i thought it was just an issue with the mobile ff reader._


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